Sound Check: Temples developing stage presence to woo new audiences

Temples’ success, particularly in its native Britain, “still comes as a shock every day” to the band’s four members, says drummer Samuel Toms.

After launching as a YouTube sensation in mid-2012, Temples released its critically acclaimed debut album “Sun Structures” earlier this year, which hit No. 7 on the U.K. charts as well as No. 2 on the Independent Albums survey. It’s also made a dent on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums and Independent Albums charts, and the group was one of the top buzz draws at this year’s South By Southwest Music Conference and Festival in Austin, Texas.

Even the normally truculent Oasis co-founder Noel Gallagher has championed the group and its psychedelic-flavored sound.

And though Toms says Temples began life “as a recording project,” its style actually “developed a lot in a live environment, as we played more and more.”

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“We had to think of it differently in a live aspect, and it just kind of became a mixture of all those bands we like,” he says. “We all have different bands we really love — a lot of the obvious ones, really, like Pink Floyd and the Beatles and things like that. And we all have different bands that we really love individually. Somewhere midst all that is where we found our sound.”

Having gotten off to a good start at home, Toms says Temples is looking forward to staking its claim around the world — and especially in the U.S. to build on the good will generated last month in Texas.

“I don’t really know what to expect, but I’m really excited,” says Toms, who had to miss the SXSW appearances for personal reasons. “I think it’s going to be really special. We’re going to a lot of places we’ve not been to before, so that’s going to be really good. We’ve done mostly East Coast shows, so it’ll be nice to get to the West Coast and see some cool sights and just introduce ourselves to a lot of new audiences, I think.”